A Whiter Shade of Pale

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"A Whiter Shade of Pale"
Single by Procol Harum
from the album Procol Harum
B-side "Lime Street Blues"
Released 12 May 1967
Format 7"
Recorded Olympic Studios
Genre Psychedelic rock
Progressive rock
Baroque pop
Length 4:03
Label Deram Records
Writer(s) Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, Matthew Fisher
Producer Denny Cordell
Procol Harum singles chronology
"A Whiter Shade of Pale"
(1967)		 "Homburg"
(1967)

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart[1] on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks.

Contents

[edit] Song profile

With its haunting tone and Bach flavouring (both provided by Hammond organist Matthew Fisher), vocals by Gary Brooker, and unusual lyrics by Keith Reid, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached #1 in several countries when released in 1967.

In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. Even in 2009, it was the most played song in public places in the UK.[2] In fact, the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognized it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.[3]

More than 900 recorded cover versions by other artists are known.[4] The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in the soundtracks of numerous films, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked and notably in Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example by King Curtis in Withnail and I and by Annie Lennox in The Net.

The original writing credits were for Brooker and Reid only. On 30 July 2009, Matthew Fisher won co-writing credit for the music in a unanimous ruling from the Law Lords of the House of Lords. (See Authorship Lawsuit below.)

[edit] Recording and personnel

The song was performed and recorded at Olympic Studios, with Gary Brooker providing the vocals and piano, Matthew Fisher on a Hammond M-102 organ, David Knights on bass, and Ray Royer on guitar. Drums were provided by session drummer Bill Eyden. A few days later, the song was re-recorded with the band's then newly-recruited drummer Bobby Harrison. That version, though, was considered inferior, and one of the original mono recordings was chosen for release.

Producer for the record was Denny Cordell and Keith Grant was the sound engineer.[5]

The song was included on the original U.S. release of the Procol Harum album, but not on the UK version.

[edit] Chart performance and acclaim

The single was released on 12 May 1967 (UK, Deram Records). It entered the UK charts on 25 May 1967. In two weeks, it had reached number one, where it stayed for six weeks. All in all, it stayed 15 weeks on the UK chart. A May 1972 re-release on Fly Records stayed in the UK charts for a total of 12 weeks, and reached number 13 as highest. In the US, it reached #5 and sold over one million copies.

Chart positions: # 1 (UK), # 1 (Germany) , # 1 (Ireland), # 1 (Australia), # 1 (World), # 3 (Norway VG-lista), # 5 (USA Hot 100)

Over time, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has earned extensive critical acclaim.

[edit] Lyrics

Reid told Songfacts that he got the idea for the title when it came to him at a party, which gave him a starting point for the song.[7] The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom also the fourth.[8]

The phrase a whiter shade of pale by Keith Reid has since gained widespread use in the English language, noticed by several dictionaries.[9][10][11] As such, the phrase is today often used in contexts independent of any consideration of the song. (See [12] for many annotated examples complete with links to original sources.) It has also been heavily paraphrased, in forms like an Xer shade of Y - this to the extent that it has been officially recognized[13][14] as a snowclone - a type of cliché and phrasal template.

[edit] Resemblance to the work of J.S. Bach

The Hammond organ line of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's "Sleepers Awake" and "Air on a G String" (Actually the second movement of Bach's 3rd Orchestral Suite, simply titled "Aria"), but contrary to popular belief, the song is not a direct copy or paraphrase of any music by Bach,[15] although it makes clear references to both pieces. This similarity is referenced in the 1982 play The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard and the 1991 film The Commitments.

[edit] Authorship lawsuit

In 2005, former Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the Royal Courts of Justice against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that he co-wrote the music for the song.[16]

Fisher won the case on 20 December 2006 but was awarded 40% of the composers' share of the music copyright, rather than the 50% he was seeking and was not granted royalties prior to 2005.[17]

Gary Brooker and publisher Onward Music were granted leave to appeal, and a hearing on the matter was had before a panel of three judges during the week of 1 October 2007. The decision, on 4 April 2008, by Lord Justice Mummery, in The Court of Appeal upheld Fisher's co-authorship[18] but ruled that he should receive no royalties as he had taken too long (38 years) to bring his claim to litigation. Full royalty rights were returned to Brooker.[19]

On 5 November 2008, Matthew Fisher was granted permission to appeal this decision in the House of Lords.[20] Lawyers say it is the first time the Law Lords have been asked to rule on a copyright dispute involving a song.[21] The appeal was heard in the House of Lords on 22 - 23 April 2009.[22]

On 30 July 2009 the Law Lords unanimously ruled in Fisher's favour. They noted that the delay in bringing the case had not caused any harm to the other party; on the contrary they had benefited financially from it. They also pointed out that there were no time limits to copyright claims under English law. The right to future royalties was therefore returned to Fisher.[23][24] The musicological basis of the judgment, and its effect on the rights of musicians who contribute composition to future works, have drawn wide attention in the music world.[25]

[edit] Video

The video for the song was shot in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, England.[26]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "EveryHit.com". everyHit.com. http://www.everyhit.com/. Retrieved 2008-11-25. 
  2. ^ "Whiter Shade 'most played' song". BBC News. 13 April 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7996979.stm. Retrieved 2009-04-13. 
  3. ^ "Procol Harum Shades Rivals in UK Survey". http://www.procolharum.com/awsop_ppl_2004.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-29. 
  4. ^ "A Whiter Shade of Pale Versions — Martin's Collection". http://www.awsop-versions.com/. Retrieved 2009-06-02. 
  5. ^ "Procol Harum Beyond The Pale" by Claes Johansen, pp. 68, 86, SAF Publishing, London, 2000.
  6. ^ "THE 100 GREATEST No.1 SINGLES". http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/singles/results.html. Retrieved 2006-09-21. 
  7. ^ "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1131. Retrieved 2009-05-40. 
  8. ^ "Miscellaneous Keith Reid words". http://procolharum.com/text99.htm#A_Whiter_Shade_of. Retrieved 2009-08-01. 
  9. ^ Knowles, Elizabeth (editor), ed (2007). "Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations". Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199208951. 
  10. ^ Knowles, Elizabeth (editor), ed (2004). "The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations". The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198607205. 
  11. ^ Ratcliffe, Susan, ed (2006). "Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, & Quotation". Oxford Dictionary of Phrase, Saying, & Quotation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192806505. 
  12. ^ "'A Whiter shade of pale' in common parlance". http://procolharum.com/99/awsop_parlance.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-23. 
  13. ^ "The Snowclones Database". http://snowclones.org/. Retrieved 2009-06-29. 
  14. ^ Pullum, Geoffrey K; Liberman, Mark (2006), Far from the Madding Gerund and Other Dispatches from the Language Log, William, James & Company, ISBN 978-1590280553 .
  15. ^ "What Bach Piece is A Whiter Shade of Pale?". Archived from the original on 2001-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20010616151342/www.bachfaq.org/whiter.html. Retrieved 2006-09-21. 
  16. ^ "A Whiter Shade of Pale authorship lawsuit". http://www.procolharum.com/awsop_lawsuit2.htm. Retrieved 2006-09-21. 
  17. ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Organist wins Procol Harum battle.
  18. ^ http://www.procolharum.com/awsop_lawsuit-080404_judgment-appeal-e3fvx1.htm
  19. ^ BBC - Procol Harum ruling is overturned.
  20. ^ BBC News, 6 November 2008, Lords House to hear Procol battle; www.bbc.co.uk.
  21. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8012303.stm
  22. ^ Bowcott, Owen (2009-04-22). "A Whiter Shade of Pale: House of Lords asked to rule in copyright wrangle". Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/22/law-popandrock. Retrieved 2009-06-29. 
  23. ^ "Victory for Whiter Shade organist". BBC. 2009-07-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8176352.stm. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
  24. ^ "Judgments - Fisher (Original Respondent and Cross-appellant) v Brooker and others (Original Appellants and Cross-respondents)". 2009-07-30. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldjudgmt/jd090730/fisher-1.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-31. 
  25. ^ http://crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com/Article/Procol-Harums-A-Whiter-Shade-of-Pale.html
  26. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2008/07/14/witley_court_basics_feature.shtml

[edit] External links

Preceded by
"Silence is Golden" by The Tremeloes		 UK Singles Chart number one single
8 June 1967 - 18 July 1967 (six weeks)		 Succeeded by
"All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles
Preceded by
"Black Velvet Band" by Johnny McEvoy		 Ireland 1967 number one single
22 June 1967 - 19 July 1967 (five weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Black Velvet Band" by Johnny McEvoy
Preceded by
"This is My Song" by Petula Clark		 Australia 1967 number one single
8 July 1967 - 28 July 1967 (three weeks)		 Succeeded by
"All You Need is Love / Baby, You're a Rich Man" by The Beatles
v • d • e
Procol Harum
Gary Brooker · Geoff Dunn · Matt Pegg · Josh Phillips · Geoff Whitehorn · Keith Reid
Dave Ball · Graham Broad · Dave Bronze · Mark Brzezicki · Alan Cartwright · Chris Copping · Matthew Fisher · Mick Grabham · Bobby Harrison · David Knights · Dee Murray · Tim Renwick · Ray Royer · Don Snow · Pete Solley · Henry Spinetti · Jerry Stevenson · Robin Trower · Ian Wallace · B.J. Wilson
Guy Stevens · Bill Eyden
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Other albums
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Whiter_Shade_of_Pale"